


Privilege and Prejudice

by Llama1412



Series: Families of Choice [14]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Exploring how Jaskier benefits from privilege, Gen, Morality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23535598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llama1412/pseuds/Llama1412
Summary: Instances in which Jaskier is confronted by the ways his prejudice against elves affects his actions and the ways in which he’s benefited from their subjugation.Part of the Families of Choice series, but all you really need to know is that Jaskier has been friends with Calanthe since they were children together.
Relationships: Calanthe Fiona Riannon & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Families of Choice [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660492
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	1. Toss a Coin

Jaskier never told Calanthe the truth about his first adventure with Geralt. He could have – could have told her about how the elves had taken them captive and beaten them. About how Geralt had advised them how to survive human hatred, had conceded that in order to survive with humanity, they must grow a thick skin and learn to ignore the slights and scorn. About how the “Devil” of Posada had been stealing grain to feed the elves, how the elves were poisoned because of the iron pellets humans left with the grain. How the Devil spoke in their defense because Geralt had been honorable in their fight, how Geralt was prepared to die, but the leader of the elves decided to spare them. To show them mercy that had not been shown to the elves by humans. How he learned the real history of how humans came to occupy Dol Blathanna – and if that was true there in Aedirn, how much more so must it be true for Cintra, which was built on the remains of an Elven city?

He could have told Calanthe, could have started that conversation. But it was an argument he never wanted to have – there would be no right answer, no right way to resolve this. Calanthe hated elves. Cintra taught how the elves were ruthless warriors, spying on Cintra and selling her secrets to their enemies. They raided Cintran borders, and Calanthe pushed them back, just as Calanthe pushed back any who threatened her borders.

And the truth was, Jaskier didn’t really know how he felt about all of it. Did knowing that Calanthe’s “guerilla warriors” were more likely “starving refugees” in reality affect how he saw Calanthe?

Honestly, not really. It made him sad, just as knowing so many had died made him sad. But that was really it. Did he feel guilty about continuing the story with elves as the bad guys, using the Elven lute he’d been gifted to share the song? He should, shouldn’t he? But as he’d told Geralt that first day – respect doesn’t make history.

He respected Filavandrel, and all the elves he led, for surviving what they had and for continuing on. He also respected Calanthe for defending her kingdom and her soldiers for surviving (or not, as the case may be).

But what Jaskier  _ wanted _ was to make history. Specifically, to make sure the people he cared about were remembered in history for their incredible accomplishments, whether that was Geralt of Rivia, the noble White Wolf, or Queen Calanthe, the fierce Lioness of Cintra. And the fact was, a story where they got they got beat up and almost killed didn’t shine a good light on anyone except  _ maybe  _ the merciful captor, and even that was a stretch. Sure, Geralt’s nobility, the way he cared what happened to these people who were just trying to survive, it’s what made Jaskier want to follow him. Well, not only that – there is a reason he approached Geralt in that bar, and decided to invite himself on his contract before he knew about the nobility, after all. But nobility was a sidenote in history. What he needed was a story that truly  _ shows _ how heroic Geralt is. 

Jaskier was loyal to people, not ideologies. If that meant exaggerating stories in favor of his friends, well, that was just artistic license. If it meant ignoring unpleasant truths, well, shit he’d been running away from those his whole life.

And maybe that was wrong, maybe that made him bad, but it’s who he was. He was loyal to Calanthe and he was loyal to Geralt, and there was no reason those two things should ever be at odds, right?


	2. The Music Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calanthe had gifted Jaskier with a Music Room in Cintra. When she found instruments amongst the spoils of war, she gifted them to him.

His first summer in Cintra, Queen Calanthe had gifted him with free use of the most beautiful music hall he had ever seen. It was a large room with marble flooring, lined with big arching windows that let sunlight stream in. The first summer, the only instrument in the hall had been a gorgeous grand piano with ivory keys that Jaskier was fairly certain was worth more than he was.

Piano was the first instrument he mastered. He learned many, some better than others, but that grand piano was the first instrument he was truly able to just play with. He preferred the lute on his travels – not only was it light and simple enough to maintain, but it gave him freedom to play and sing and  _ move _ , which was the biggest downside of a piano. See, Jaskier (as he later came to be know)  _ loved _ music. He had music in his head and if he didn’t let it out, it just became  _ so much _ . So he let it out: he was constantly humming, singing, tapping his fingers to the beat. And when he got engrossed in the music, he just had to move and dance and give his full self to the music.

That’s what made the hall’s floor so perfect. Not to brag, but Jaskier rather thought he’d invented some wonderful moves on those sparkling white floors. He was also the only one who could judge, as there had rarely been witnesses, but he was an  _ excellent  _ dancer.

Calanthe noticed the way his leg bounced constantly while playing the piano, the way he shimmied in place trying to work off excess energy. She was the first to offer him a lute. It was a nice instrument – not too expensive, but still nice – but it could have been the cheapest option out there and he still would have found it special.

He’d played other instruments before of course, when his parents had paid tutors, but for the first time, these instruments were  _ his _ . He allowed others to play the piano, especially little Pavetta, but the lute was just for him. He was the only one who used it, and if others wanted to play along, they had to use another instrument.

It was wonderful, until the first time Jaskier smashed his lute over someone’s head. It was only slightly an accident. He hadn’t meant to  _ destroy _ his precious lute, but the drunken duke had it coming.

And okay, maybe he’d made a little bit of a habit of hitting people with his instrument after the first time went so well. He’d maybe gained a bit or a reputation at Oxenfurt Academy for it. He was truly just lucky that Calanthe was apparently willing to set aside a decent fund for him – and her conditions did not include avoiding getting into fights, after she realized that was impossible.

At any rate, as he grew more skilled over the years, Calanthe got into the habit of gifting him new instruments. One year, it was an ocarina gifted by a diplomatic party from Toussaint. Another time, it was bagpipes that she confiscated from Eist after an  _ incident _ with his nephew and his friends.

But as Cintra grew stronger and expanded her borders, the instruments started to become trophies. The lute gifted by Filavandrel was the first Elven instrument he ever played, but it was not the last. After one campaign along the Amell Pass, Calanthe returned with a beautiful Elven fiddle, said to have been carved from a Brokilon Spruce tree. 

It was a kingly gift – the fiddle was probably worth fortunes, but Calanthe only cared because she knew he would like it. Jaskier was awestruck. What was his life now, that a Queen casually gifted him one of a kind trophies from her conquest?

And the fiddle was far from the last one, though it was the most ornate. Jaskier had always wondered why elves apparently took so many instruments into battle. It was only later that he realized they probably didn’t – that some of those spoils came from “wars” that were more likely refugee ambushes. By that time, his music room in Cintra was filled with all different kinds of instruments. Strings were his favorite, but he had a collection of woodwinds and percussion instruments, too. 

He wasn’t proficient in all of the instruments, as much as he liked to pretend he was. But he at least knew the basics of how to play them. And sometimes it was nice to change it up, to perform primarily with a hurdy gurdy for a season! He kept all of his instruments in Cintra, and for as long as he stayed at court, he liked to cycle through them for performances with the family. 

As the years passed, when he returned to Cintra from traveling with Geralt, he often found new instruments in the room – usually small ones, sometimes ones clearly intended to entertain children for as long as possible. He knew where they came from – with as much experience as he had, recognizing an Elven instrument became second nature. It was the way each note seemed to ring just that much stronger, the way the sound resonated in the air before fading. He didn’t know if there was magic involved in the instruments’ construction, but they sounded special. All of them.

It was obvious they were spoils of war. Their makers, their former owners – they had probably been slaughtered by Cintran troops. And some of the instruments were for children – they weren’t something anyone would bring with them when heading to war. No, these spoils weren’t from armies clashing with armies. Armies didn’t care about children’s toys.

But families? Refugees running from war and persecution? Yes, they certainly might craft a toy for their children as a special treat.

Now those children were probably dead, and the instruments sat in a beautiful marble ballroom, collecting dust while Jaskier followed a Witcher on his Path.

He knew where they came from. But the deed had been done. And wasn’t it better that the instruments were loved, rather than consigned to a trash heap?

**Author's Note:**

> I like exploring characters' morality, apparently. If you're interested in more of my thoughts on morality in the Witcher, check my [tumblr](https://uss-voyager-senior-staff.tumblr.com/post/613902083807133696/morality-and-the-witcher-characters).


End file.
